We had a lot of fun in July!
First off, was a trip to Oregon's Wallowa Lake State Park (http://oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=20) for a Jacobs family reunion. The weather was beautiful and the lake and scenery were definitely gorgeous. The camping area and park were also very nice with good bathroom/shower facilities, a playground, etc. Only real drawback would be that the park has a lot of rules and is very picky with enforcing them, but overall it was pretty great, and we had an amazing time with my very large extended family.
Lunch stop during the drive over at Bob's Burgers and Brews in Yakima--yummy food!
Family pic in front of the lake.
Beachfront!
We had a lot of fun with a couple of blow-up rafts and other tubes and things we took along. The park also had kayak and paddle board rentals which we did one day and the kids really enjoyed.
Fun times with family volleyball tournament, hanging out, and park wildlife
(that was one seriously friendly elk--he really wanted to hang around all the campers).
More fun hanging out and eating yummy food!
Grandma Susan had lots of fun activities planned!!
Wouldn't be a Jacobs reunion without a talent show!
Up the street from the campground was a little go-cart track that we had a great time racing on!!
There were also a couple of good hikes very near by, that we (of course!) took advantage of.
Grandpa, and I, and most of the kids enjoyed a nice short trail that took us past this beautiful river ...
And on to this waterfall/resting spot/photo op.
Kevin and James started out with us for the first 1/4 mile or so, but then branched off for a much more difficult 15-mile hike ...
That looped around the pretty impressive Icicle Lake!
We were all fairly tired at night from days full of so much fun and movement--especially this little guy!
Luckily, the end of the reunion wasn't the end of our fun. As soon as it was over, we headed further into Eastern Oregon to my brother's/dad's places. They live in the heart of small town USA with farming communities all around. The kids have so much fun there!!
Good times at Uncle Mick's with his side-by-side and pool!!
Local 4th of July parade with LOTS of cousins.
It was so much fun to be there.
Always something to do!
Like eating yummy shaved ice from a cute little shaved ice truck (that one of my cousins and her teenage daughters run).
And as if that weren't enough, we also had a great time at the 4th of July Rodeo. It's kinda a big deal here, I think pretty much the whole town shows up.
My kid's favorite part--the pig scramble.
This pic was actually taken by the local newspaper (http://www.argusobserver.com/sports/rodeo-roundup/article_873e5fec-40d9-11e6-a72b-3fe1e5a16859.html) and one of my cousins let me know they had seen a little boy with glasses it in (Joseph of course). Pretty hard to see, but Mae and Joe are on the far right.
Suicide Race--there were just a couple of contenders and the 1st place guy won by a lot.
In addition to Mick's and the rodeo, we also had a great time hanging around Grandpa and Grandma Jacobs' (my dad and step mom's) home. It is such a serene place to be and we all had a lot of fun there enjoying the solitude and beautiful surroundings.
The kids couldn't get enough of grandpa's lawnmower.
We also had fun with our little Pocket Shot, and Grandpa put up some swings in the big tree out front that were too good to resist.
We were all happy to enjoy a little R&R.
And then it was time to go home.
It was a beautiful drive, the kids were extremely entertained in the car with all their many devices (which means Kevin and I get to listen to our book), and we made our traditional stop at the Baker City Geiser Pollman Park.
Already looking forward to next time!!
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